Archive: August, 2013

It’s been a few years but finally MUSA Dodgeball was back at Bradford Beach for the 2013 installment of the Beach Jam. It didn’t matter if the sand was scorching hot, the weather couldn’t have been better and the teams were ready to do battle inside one of the greatest dodgeball arena’s I have ever seen thanks to the hardworking people at the beach.

2013 MUSA Dodgeball Beach Cup Champions: The People’s Elbow

In the first round of group play The People’s Elbow easily dispatched Hit It & Forget It 3 games to 0 for the complete dodgeball sweep and setting the tone for the rest of the tournament that they were the team to beat. Coming off a 4th place finish in the Winter Dodgeball league, Who’s Counting was looking to take advantage of new comers the Bradford Beach Bums and advantage they got, sweeping the Bums 3 games to none including a first round game that lasted only 1 minute 4 seconds. At that point you knew the Bums were playing for pride the rest of the day and winding up in 4th after pool play. Hit It & Forget It at times played like a team to contend with but just too inconsistent to put any real kind of real threat together so they ended pool play in the #3 spot.

2013 MUSA Dodgeball Beach Cup Runner-Up: Who’s Counting

The tournament had some great action including some last man standing heroics by an unknown Beach Bum who made a timely catch with time winding down to grab one of their only 2 wins of the day. It’s not easy being the 1 against 8. Also, captain Andy Schalk of Who’s Counting was always in the mood for some spectacular diving catches to save his team out of the clutches of defeat and launch them into the 2nd seed for the elimination round. In the end though, The People’s Elbow was just too much for anyone to handle as they defeated Who’s Counting 2 out of 3 in the championship and sealing their names in MUSA Dodgeball lore.

They weren’t flashy, just consistent and tough to beat… kind of like the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. Congrats guys and gals on a great tournament and thank you to everyone that participated and helped with the tournament, it truly is a unique and special venue.

If you missed this the first installment of the Beach Cup, mark your calendars as we are going back to the beach for part duex September 21st! Get your teams ready as registration will open Monday August 26th.

Mother Nature couldn’t have blessed us with better kickball weather as five of MUSA’s hottest teams gathered to wrap up the summer season.

A last minute forfeit from Pumped Up Kicks allowed It’s Business Time an early advance through their bracket. The first game of the morning saw a match-up between summer league veterans Caf-POW and Kick In a Box. Both teams seemed to be still shaking off their Friday nights, as it was a rather low scoring and uneventful game with a few not-so-veteran flubs. Kick In a Box pulled off a 4-0 victory and advanced to the next round of the winners bracket where they would meet up the scantily clad Skins crew… more on that later.

2013 Summer Skool Champs: Skins

After their free pass into the second round of the winners bracket, It’s Business Time went head to head with year-round kickers Red Ball and Vodka. RBV proved to be on their game this tournament, as they knocked It’s Business Time into the loser’s bracket after an 11-2 victory. Meanwhile, first round winners Kick in a Box were taking on an under-clothed Skins team. The two teams were evenly matched after 9 innings and after some well placed kicks and a poor defensive inning from Kick in a Box, Skins gave them a ticket to the losers bracket in 11 innings with a 6-4 victory.

2013 Summer Skool Runner-Up: Red Ball & Vodka

The only 11AM game took place in the losers bracket between scrappy vets Caf-POW and It’s Business Time, coming in vengeful after their loss to RBV. Their tenacity proved worthwhile, as they sent Caf-POW home early with a 2-1 victory. It’s Business Time went on to meet up with Kick in a Box, who sat chomping at the bit after being ousted to the losers bracket the round before. Sometime between their loss and the beginning of the game, the veteran Kick in a Box players regained their mojo, sending 5 homeruns into the outfield and putting on a defensive blockade. They sent It’s Business Time packing with a massive 17-2 victory.

On the other field, Red Ball and Vodka was embattled in what is becoming a classic “RBV Extra Innings” game with Skins. After 9 innings wasn’t enough to decide a victor, the game went into not one, not two, but FIVE extra innings. Each team was down to just 5 players on the field, as you lose a player for each extra inning. After 14 long, intense innings, MUSA legend “The Renna” sent a well placed kick into right field, allowing veteran Luke Kolancheck to score the winning run. The Skins found themselves knocked into the losers bracket where they would once again meet up with Kick in a Box. Unfortunately for Kick in a Box, Skins came in looking for retribution. After their big game against It’s Business Time, Kick in a Box lost their winning spirit and were sent home after a 4-2 loss to the nearly au natural Skins gang.

Skins returned to the championship rounds to face off with Red Ball and Vodka once again. They played well after their victory over Kick in a Box and easily defeated RBV 5-1. However, this being a double-elimination bracket, the two teams were sent back into the ring for one final match-up. Both teams seemed tired and exhausted from the summer heat (read: anxious to get to the bar), as neither group could put a run on the board, posting solid defense and not-so-solid offense. After some scoreless innings, Skins sent in 1 run, which would end up being all they needed for a victory. Skins were declared 2013 Summer EOS champions after a 1-0 victory over Red Ball and Vodka.

Congratulations to Skins on their championship, and thank you to all the teams that participated this summer. We look forward to seeing you all in the fall!